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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sunshine, Vision Boards, And An Elimination Diet Update

I've been relishing my last week of freedom before classes start up again. It's given me the time to do the elimination diet, work on grad school applications, and even better, go to more yoga classes. This morning, I arrived in class to find a larger group than normal. There weren't many spots left, so I ended up across the room from where I usually place my mat. My yoga class is in a big, light studio with large windows. Shades block the sunlight, but I noticed that my mat was placed exactly where the light would shine in from the one shade that wasn't closed. I moved my mat a little, and figured it would be fine. But halfway through the class, I found myself getting a little bit annoyed and antsy because the light was shining directly in my eyes. I was literally doing yoga in a pocket of sunshine. I was going to get up and close the shade, but then I remembered something. So I smiled, relaxed, and continued through the class in the sunshine.

What did I remember? My vision board. At the beginning of the month, I made a vision board for 201o and tacked it up in a prominent place on my wall. Last night, I wanted to declutter my apartment, so I started looking for things I didn't need. I found a folder of magazine cutouts, leftovers from the vision board. Rifling through them, I put them all in the recycling bin, except one, a boldly printed word: SUNSHINE. Grabbing some tape, I put it right in the middle of my vision board. This morning, I realized I had been given exactly what I asked for. So I basked in the sunshine, and gave thanks.

In elimination diet news, I've been eating a lot of avocado salads, veggie sushi, and quinoa. I noticed that the same ingredients that I can drink easily in a smoothie will bother my stomach (that rib pain again) if eaten in a salad. So I guess it's not just about the food, but how it's prepared. Frankly, it's not going to stop me from eating salad though. After hearing about enzymes and probiotics from a few bloggers, I decided to try raw sauerkraut as an alternative to pills while I'm on the diet. Today, I stopped at the store and bought some, a bit apprehensively I'll admit. My only experience with sauerkraut is that it smells funny. I was amazed to find out that I loved it though, and actually had to force myself to stop eating it. Sunflower seed butter has also been a great find for me, although at $8.00/jar, there's a good chance I won't be buying it again. But it's worked it's way into many of my phase 1 meals and snacks, including:

And coming soon? A new elimination diet phase 1 recipe using the sweet dumpling squash above. And this one's so good (and good for you), you'll want to make it whether you're on the elimination diet or not!

6 comments:

What a great post, Iris! Absolutely love the Sunshine effect of your vision board! Vision boards rule. For a long time when I first started my vision board, I only had one thing on it ... well, guess which thing came true! :-)

I think you can make your own sunbutter pretty easily and much more cheaply.

Love that broccoli photo. Broccoli doesn't need much and it's hard to mess up with any added ingredient. ;-)

I've been amazed by dates. You can do so much with them and still be sugar free!

I agree with Shirley/gfe - you could probably make sunflower seed butter easily and cheaply - throw some sunflower seeds in the food processor. Salt as needed! And I love those dates! Dates are such a treat to me. Yum!